Roses & Wine
by celestialwinters
Summary: Aerith and Tifa are both itching to get away from their past. Can trading spaces for a little while mend old wounds? Cloti/Zerith
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **The idea for this is roughly based on the movie "The Holiday" with the whole house swap idea. It's set in basic FFVII universe, but I've tweaked multiple things, so it's more of a UA than an AU, y'know? (if that makes any sense) I hope you enjoy!

I don't own FFVII or "The Holiday", obviously.

* * *

Heavy footfalls and steady breaths were all he could hear, trying to calculate the distance in his head as he ran.

This had become regular routine for Zack since he'd been in Midgar. Rise with the sun—not that you could see it in the slums—and fit in some exercise before the rest of Midgar even woke up. He may be off duty for now, but he'd have keep himself conditioned. _Just in case._

He slowed to a light walk to finish up, glancing at his watch. _7:00. Plenty of time. _

Every day, after his usual workout and post-workout shower, he headed over to Tifa's _7th Heaven._ Whenever he was back in Midgar, he helped her out there as much as possible. Turns out, things run a lot more smoothly for everyone when a SOLDIER member is behind the bar. _And hey!_ _He'd named the place, so he may as well be there to keep order once in awhile._

Not that Tifa couldn't handle things—because she was easily worth two men as far as strength went_—_but she liked a break from being hit on constantly, and Barret, who acted as the bouncer, got to take time off to spend with Marlene. It worked out for everyone.

Tifa had become his stepsister back when they were kids, and Tifa's dad had married Zack's mom. Zack had been ten, Tifa had been seven, and unlike a lot of young kids being forced together by the marriage of their parents, they were incredibly fond of each other. They acted like they'd been brother and sister their whole lives, each very protective of the other. It'd been that way ever since.

So that's where he was this morning, whistling as he made his way down through the slums to Sector 7. This was the first time he'd been back in a few months and he was excited to surprise them.

When he finally got to the bar, he barged right in like usual. "Hey, Tif, I'm back in town again so I thought I'd—" He stopped short, seeing a vision in a blue and white sundress that was most definitely _not_ his sister. "Oh, uh, hiya."

"Hello," Her voice, soft and sweet, echoed slightly and rang gloriously in his ears. "I'm sorry, if you're here for a drink, I'm not quite up and running yet." Her green eyes flashed apologetically, before she turned to walk behind the bar, braid falling against her back, hips swaying delicately.

He was momentarily stunned, mouth hanging slightly open, before he snapped back to reality. "Uh, drink?" He cleared his throat, trying to regain his usual, deeper, more resonant voice. _Come on man, don't make yourself sound like a dunce. _"No, I don't really drink. I'm the bartender's brother, I help her out here whenever I'm back in Midgar." He smiled, feeling more relaxed, and leaning his tall frame against the edge of the bar. "But I'm more interested who _you_ are and what you might be doing here."

"Oh!" She looked suddenly embarrassed, her face flushing bright pink. Her hands danced around, finally settling on smoothing the front of her dress—a nervous habit, he guessed—before she looked at him shyly and offered her hand, "How rude of me! I'm Aerith."

"Nice to meet ya, Aerith," He said, grinning as he extended his gloved hand to fit hers. "Zack Fair, 1st Class SOLDIER." His voice took on a slightly haughty tone, chin raised in pride.

Aerith gave him a playful look. "SOLDIER, huh? Is that meant to impress me?"

If it was possible, his grin widened. "Maybe a little," he shrugged. "Is it working?"

She looked pensive, hands clasped behind her back, as she hummed under her breath and uttered a short "nope," then promptly turned her attention to the array of bottles lined under the bar.

Zack laughed once loudly, and gazed at her, eyes shining in mirth. _He liked this girl already._

"Okay, so, Aerith," Zack drawled. "What _are_ you doing here?" He asked, leaning in conspiratorially.

"Oh," She smiled. "Well, it's kind of a long story." She laughed, nervously. "And really quite silly, in hindsight."

He smiled slightly, plopping himself down on a stool. "I've got time."

She laughed, and it was quickly becoming one of Zack's new favorite sounds. "Okay, hmm, where to start?" She murmured mostly to herself, tapping her chin in thought. "Oh!" Her eyes brightened and she held the finger, that was previously tapping her chin, up in the air. "First off, have you ever heard about those house swap ads?"

Zack squinted his eyes in thought, trying to recall hearing about such a thing. "No... At least I don't think so. They definitely don't have anything like that in SOLDIER."

She nodded knowingly. "I figured as much. Not many people have heard of them yet, it's kind of just catching on." She paused, considering the best way to explain something that seemed so strange. "Well, basically, people put ads out and if you want to get away for awhile, you can browse said ads and kind of... adopt someone else's life for awhile, you know? To sort of escape your own. I know it sounds a little bit crazy, but..."

Zack just stared at her quietly for a moment, wrapping his head around what he thought she was saying. "So you mean to tell me that you and my sister switched lives for the time being?"

Aerith grimaced and laughed nervously, wringing her hands. "Well, it _definitely_ sounds weird when you say it like that, but yes, that's the general idea."

He nodded thoughtfully, then shrugged. "Interesting. But hey, whatever works, right?" He paused, licking his bottom lip—_not that she was staring at them or anything—_before he asked, "How long are you here for?"

"Fourteen days."

"Well, it looks like we'll be getting to know each other pretty well, then." He said flirtatiously, his smile positively oozing charm.

She just smiled and rolled her eyes. _He just thinks he's so charming, a regular Casanova. Good thing I know better than to fall for that.  
_

She had to admit though, she was feeling much more relaxed knowing that the first person she explained this crazy situation to didn't think she was insane. She hadn't even told anyone back home in Nibelheim. She just called up Tifa, made the plans, packed her things and caught the first ride she could to Midgar, eager to leave her troubles behind for awhile.

"So, if you're here working in her place, where is she?"

"Oh, I'm from Nibelheim, so she's there, working in my flower shop."

Zack burst into laughter. "Tif, in a flower shop?" He asked, incredulously. "Her green thumb is the size of a Kupo Nut!"

Aerith laughed along, but seemed unphased. "That's okay. My co-workers will lend her theirs."

* * *

The door to Aerith's shop clanged open obnoxiously. "Yuffie!" A deep, gruff voice called. "Hurry it up, will ya? This delivery's gotta be out before Aerith gets here."

From somewhere in the back of the shop, a girl called back, "I'm workin' on it, Spikey! Don't get your sword in a knot."

"Don't call me that." He said, as she walked into the room carrying what looked to be way too many boxes for someone her size.

"Whatever," She rolled her eyes, setting the boxes on a cart for him to take outside to load his sidecar, then waved a dismissive hand at him. "You try too hard to please her, you know?"

He looked at her, his face passive. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know full-well what I'm talking about, bucko, and don't you even pretend for second that you don't! I may be younger than you, but I'm not stupid!" She huffed, placing her hands on her hips petulantly.

"Look, Yuff—"

"No, you look; Either tell her or come off it. Quit acting like a lovesick dog that tries way too hard to please its owner. It's been _years! _And this is the perfect opportunity! She _finally_ dumped that no-good boyfriend of hers! Now," She grabbed his shoulders, turning and pushing him towards the door. "Make deliveries. I'll make sure to get out of here so it's just you and her when you get back. Bye!"

He sighed. _Maybe Yuffie's right. Maybe I _will_ tell her. _

* * *

Somewhere, mountains and rivers away from her home, Tifa was just arriving at the edge of Nibelheim, with no idea what awaited her there.


	2. Chapter 2

After a long night in the back of a pickup truck—the only ride she could snag on such short notice—Tifa was completely _exhausted. _But even despite her exhaustion, she couldn't help but be completely enchanted upon her arrival in Nibelheim. _It's just like a cozy little storybook town. _

Midgar was all slums, almost every bit of it now, thanks to Shinra. The air was fogged with pollution, and the sky completely covered by the plates where the privileged and wealthy resided. It was a far cry from a "storybook" setting like this place, but it was home. Nibelheim though—Nibelheim was take-your-breath-away _beautiful._

It was a small mountain town—quite literally in the heart of mountains—with cobblestone streets and quaint houses all structured similarly, yet all different enough to be unique. The air was fresh and clean, and the sky, _oh the sky_, was a bright and vivid light blue color that she felt like it'd been way too long since she'd seen. _Aerith wanted to get away from here and go to _Midgar _of all places? _Tifa shook her head in bewilderment, pulling her knapsack around to search from the slip of paper she'd printed off from Aerith.

_Head northeast of the town's entrance, there will be a large sign on the building, you can't miss it! _

Aerith hadn't given her the address to her house, only to her shop, and said that one of her co-workers could show her the place she'd be staying for her duration here.

Tifa took a deep breath to calm herself, then headed towards Aerith's flower shop. She took her time, enjoying the clean air, the white puffy clouds moving slowly in the sky. She'd been in such a trance, enjoying all the new sights, that she almost didn't jump out of the way when some idiot on a motorbike almost ran her over. "Ah!" She squealed, diving onto the grassy patch on the side of the road. She quickly whipped around to see blond spikes of hair moving haphazardly in the wind as he zoomed away and she raised a not-so-polite gesture into the air, hoping he'd catch it in his rearview. "Jackass!" She called after him, even though she was fairly certain he couldn't hear.

She pushed herself to her feet, brushing the grass and dirt from herself and thanking her quick reflexes, then continued on her way, this time much more wary of insane motorists that she may happen upon.

After about ten more minutes of walking—which was about twenty more than she wanted given her current state—she finally reached what she assumed was the heart of the town. It was busier, which still wasn't nearly as busy as Midgar on it's slowest days, but busier, nonetheless.

She sighed, standing on her toes to look around for some sign that would lead her to Aerith's shop.

"Miss! Excuse me, miss!"

Tifa glanced back down to eye level and was met with the sight of a big... Toy moogle?

"Uhm... hello?" Tifa said, her tone making it sound like a question, eyebrows brought down in slight confusion.

"Hi there! You're not from around here, are ya?" The moogle replied.

Tifa looked around dubiously, to see if anyone else walking by happened to acknowledge this strange occurrence.

No one did.

_Has exhaustion set in? Am I hallucinating? ...What about the guy on the bike, was he even real?_

"I... No?" She finally stuttered.

The creature seemed to bounce from foot to foot, almost in an excited manner.

"Wow, you sure don't say much, do you?"

"Am I going crazy?" She finally muttered, mostly to herself.

"Crazy? What makes ya say that?"

"Oh, gosh, I dunno, maybe the fact that I'm talking to a _giant stuffed moogle!_"

"Hello, I'm a _cat! _And I control this 'giant stuffed moogle' thank you very much!"

"Oh, a cat? Good, that must mean my sanity is still in tact." She deadpanned.

Apparently, cats weren't very perceptive to sarcasm, because he continued on cheerily.

"So, if you're not from here, what're ya doin' here?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business. I don't even know who you are."

"Oh! Where are my manners?" The moogle bounced around in place. "Cait Sith, fortune teller extraordinaire! Pleased to meet ya!" The mog's plush hand extended towards Tifa.

_I must be really tired. _Tifa glanced at it pensively for a moment before hesitantly shaking it.

"Tifa Lockhart."

"What a pretty name! Want me to read your fortune? It's sure to be a good one for such a nice name... But you can't hold me accountable if it isn't."

"Uhh... No thanks. I actually have to go, I'm, uh, looking for a thing, a um, a place. Bye." Tifa tucked her hair behind her ear and waved awkwardly, quickly stepping around the moogle and heading swiftly in the direction she figured Aerith's shop would be.

"Bye! Try not to keep your heart locked up, Miss Lockhart!" The moogle called after her, laughing hysterically at his own joke. Only when the sounds of his laughter quieted did she slow her pace and take a deep breath. _How strange. So much for a storybook town... _

Finally, Aerith's shop came into view, and she was right; you _definitely _couldn't miss it. A large emerald green sign was hung on the front above the entrance, with _Gainsborough Flowers _painted beautifully in calligraphy with white paint, and beautiful hand-painted roses adorning all of the empty space surrounding it. _Wow._

_Finally. _Tifa sighed, willing herself to finish the small trek to the shop before she passed out from being so tired.

The chimes above the door rang soothingly when she opened it—nothing like the loud, abrasive ones in Midgar.

"Um, excuse me?" She called out, her hand meeting the strap of her knapsack at her shoulder.

"Can't you read? We're not open yet!" A young female voice called from Tifa's right. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, searching. She didn't see anyone, so she stepped in completely closing the door behind her. _She was positive she had the right place, at any rate. _

Finally she spied a petite, black-haired girl sitting behind the checkout counter, a pile of small marbles of various colors in front of her as she seemingly counted them off in her head. Tifa cleared her throat.

The girl glanced up now, an irritated look screwing up her child-like features. "Didn't you hear me? We're not open, come back later!"

Tifa, now slightly irritated herself as she was rather short-fused when she was tired, took the authoritative stance that came naturally when you'd worked at a bar for the better part of your life; arms crossed, chin tilted in the air. "I'm actually here in place of Aerith."

This caught the girl's attention. "What? Where's Aerith?" She finally stood up, seeming to take a battle stance herself.

Tifa's eyes widened in surprise. "She didn't tell you?" _Tifa hadn't told anyone, but she hadn't thought Aerith wouldn't have either._ "Well, we, um... Sort of exchanged lives for the time being."

The short pixie-haired girl snorted. "Yeah, okay, who are you _really_?"

Tifa shook her head. "It's true. Here," She said, suddenly remembered the e-mail Aerith had sent with the address.

The girl looked distrustfully at her, before snatching the note from her hand.

_Tifa,_

_Gainsborough Flowers, 243 Ancient Forest Avenue._

_Head northeast of the town's entrance, there will be a large sign on the building, you can't miss it! _

_This is the address to my flower shop. That's my job, a flower merchant; so now, it's yours for two weeks! Go here when you get into town, one of my co-workers will show you where my house is. Good luck!_

_Aerith_

Her eyes, wide in disbelief, measured Tifa up for a minute. "Start from the beginning."

* * *

"And... here I am." Tifa shrugged, _whooshing _out a deep breath of air to blow her bangs out of her face.

The girl let out a low whistle. "Talk about spur of the moment."

Tifa nodded, swallowing. "I know. I still can't really believe I did it. I didn't even _tell _anyone. I just left."

Yuffie let out a loud laugh. "I'm really surprised at Aerith. She didn't tell anyone either, and that's _so_ unlike her."

"Oh? Why?"

"She's so... _matronly."_ Yuffie said, her face scrunched up in disgust, but somehow still showed undertones of admiration.

Tifa laughed. "Well, I don't think there's anything wrong wi—"

The chimes to the door rang, and someone immediately started talking—rambling, really—leaving Tifa and Yuffie staring wide-eyed at the man before them.

"Look, Aerith, we really need to talk, and I need you to just not say anything, because if you do I'm pretty sure I'll lose my—" He finally looked up from his boots to see _two_ women standing before him, neither of which were Aerith. "...Nerve."

"Hiya, Spikey!" Yuffie called, trying to diffuse the tension. "Sorry, things didn't work out quite like we'd planned, _but_ see, the thing is..." Yuffie said, her voice high as she smiled nervously, inching her way towards the door. She knew Cloud was going to be angry with her since she had convinced him to put himself out there and he _hated _doing that. "Bye!" Yuffie scurried by, making a beeline for the exit, patting the blond on the shoulder as she went.

"Coward! We'll talk about this later!" Cloud yelled out the door after her. He wasn't actually mad, just mildly embarrassed that it didn't work out the way he'd gone over in his head. He knew that Yuffie was right in encouraging him to tell Aerith. He'd liked her for six years now and never even made a move. _What was the use pining if he wasn't going to do anything about it?_ But he didn't want Yuffie to know he thought she was right; her head was big enough without his help.

Tifa cleared her throat, thinking this was the most awkward she'd felt in some time, and that was saying a lot considering she worked in a bar. "Um... Hi." She said, smiling shyly as she kicked at the ground nervously. The blond's eyes darted to her, a mixture of nervousness and curiosity flickering in them.

"Hi," He said, sounding breathless—probably due to nerves from the small speech he'd begun.

"Um, I'm sorry, about... You know, your plan not working out. Whatever it was." Tifa said, feeling sympathetic to him. _He seemed like he was about to make a declaration of love to Aerith. Does she even have any idea? _

"Uh, no, no problem." He said, shrugging in that guyish way where they pretend things aren't a big deal. "Mind if I ask who you are, exactly?"

"Oh!" Tifa blushed. "Tifa Lockhart. Long story, but the short version is that I'll be here in Aerith's place for two weeks."

"What? Why? Is she okay?" His face looked panicked.

"Yes! She's fine, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you." Tifa put her hands out, as if to soothe his nerves. "We've just sort of done a house swap."

"A... house swap?"

"Yeah, it's basically a less expensive version of a... vacation, I guess."

"So... You're here, and Aerith's...?"

"In Midgar."

"The slums?"

Tifa swallowed hard, noting his slightly disgusted tone. It was something she was generally used to from people that didn't live in Midgar, but it still stung, nonetheless. "Um, yes."

He nodded, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly. "I can't believe she didn't tell us." Hurt flashed across his face, followed by doubt, though of what Tifa wasn't sure, before he quickly masked it all.

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't tell anyone in my life, either."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it makes me feel a lot better to know that you're both selfish and irresponsible."

Tifa recoiled like she'd been slapped. No one _ever_ talked to her like that, and she worked in a place where all the customers were usually drunk.

"_Excuse me?"_ She said, her voice raising a few octaves. "How dare you! You don't know anything about me."

"I know that you don't care enough about people to be courteous and let them know you're leaving."

Tifa's jaw dropped.

"What, are you mad that your little girlfriend didn't care enough to tell _you, _so you're taking it out on me?" She knew that was a low-blow, considering what she'd just witnessed with his almost-speech, but between her exhaustion and the tears pricking behind her eyes in anger, it just slipped out.

He flinched at that. "Whatever."

Tifa nodded, beginning to pace. "Well, this was just a great idea. I thought this place was going to be perfect! So cute, so quaint... But _nooo._ First, I almost get run over by some idiot, _then_ some giant stuffed _moogle_ wants to tell my fortune, and now this? Why am I even here? I should've just stayed home and dealt with that idiot... I'm sure if I just ripped them off, he'd definitely leave me alone..." Tifa rambled under her breath to herself.

She brushed her fingers through her tangled mess of hair, and sighed loudly in frustration. She was so tired. She was leaving. She'd just go back home, stay with Barret or something, let Aerith get her money's worth, and maybe just enjoy a nice, peaceful, two weeks off from work. She headed towards the door, not noticing that the blond had been quietly watching her the whole time.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Home."

"Home?"

She whirled on him, tired and irritated. "Yes, _home. _Back to Midgar, which I'm sure disgusts someone like you, so I guess it's good that I don't give a damn what you think."

"Someone like me? And what am I like, _exactly?"_

"You _clearly_ think you're better than the likes of the people who live there." She said simply, turning towards the door.

He stood in shock, before following her outside. "You don't know me," He echoed her previous words.

"Well, that didn't stop _you _from making judgments, did it?" She said over her shoulder.

"Okay, look," He started, grabbing her wrist and trying to pull her to a stop, but he pulled too hard and she fell back and crashed into him. Her breath caught and she glanced up to meet his eyes. _This chick really made his blood boil._ They just glared at each other, the tension so thick you'd need a sword to cut it. He was the first to break contact and step back, sighing heavily. "Let's just start over." He extended his gloved hand to her. "I'm Cloud."

Tifa looked him up and down, surveying him, before nodding slightly and extending her own, dramatically more petite hand. "Tifa."

"Tifa... That's a nice name." Cloud offered, an attempt to make peace with the interesting and infuriating red-eyed girl before him.

"Thanks," She said. "Um, yours too."

He coughed. "Okay, look, if you'd really like to get out of here, I can give you a ride. If not, since you're staying at Aerith's, I live right next door, so I could give you a ride there, too." He paused for a minute, trying to formulate what he wanted to say. "I wish you'd stay though, so I can show you that I'm not always that much of an ass."

"Oh, not _always?_ Sounds enticing, maybe I _should_ stick around." She teased, figuring that that was his way of apologizing and he smirked. She bit her lip, seeming to consider her options. "I'll stay. It'd be great if you could take me to Aerith's."

Cloud nodded. "Okay, my bike is this way."

_Bike?_ Tifa suddenly put it together; the hair, a bike...

Which happened to be the exact _same_ bike that had almost run her over.

"You've _got _to be kidding me," Tifa sighed.

"Pardon?" He asked, grabbing his spare helmet to hand to her.

"You're the jackass that almost ran over me!"

He looked confused for a moment, before it seemed to dawn on him. "That was _you?_"

Tifa laughed. "Well, since you've tried so hard to be nicer, I'll let it slide, but just know that it's a point against you in showing me that you're not an ass all the time, so now you'll have to work harder." She wasn't sure why she was cutting him a break, when earlier she wanted to pummel him—and let's be honest, she could totally take him—but she figured it was mostly out of pity. The guy clearly wasn't having the greatest of days, and neither was she, and right now, all she wanted was a hot bath, a warm bed, and fourteen hours of beautiful, glorious sleep.

She put her helmet on, waiting for him to do the same as he just stared at her, awestruck. "Well, are we goin' or what?" She prompted.

He swallowed, got on the bike and said, "Hop on."

"Why don't you wear a helmet?" Tifa asked into his ear, as she situated herself behind him.

"Takes my cool points down, obviously," He deadpanned.

She just laughed. "Ready?" He asked over his shoulder. She was terrifed, and clung tight to him, but muttered a "yes" anyway.


End file.
